


Eygpt

by TheWanderingAvarian



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Action/Adventure, Canon Compliant, Dragons, Gen, Sibling Banter, Sibling Bonding, technically slice of life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:20:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24859048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWanderingAvarian/pseuds/TheWanderingAvarian
Summary: A Curse-Breaker and a Draconologist walk into a cave full of treasure...and immediately get into trouble.
Relationships: Bill Weasley & Charlie Weasley
Comments: 4
Kudos: 24
Collections: RAREHPBINGO





	Eygpt

**Author's Note:**

> This was for the prompt 'Egypt' of the Rare HP Bingo!

“What on earth are you dragging me into, Bill?” asked Charlie as he stepped into the cave. 

Not even two steps inside and it was already plain to see that the place was cursed. Sand wound its way up from the floor in odd, floating spirals, and the air was oddly cold compared to the blistering heat outside. 

“I already told you,” Bill said smoothly, stepping into the cave beside him, “all the legends about this place say there’s some sort of dragon inside.”

Charlie exhaled through his nose. There were only a few dragon species that could be found in Egypt, and none were of the friendly variety. 

“I’ll do my best,” he said, nervously fingering his wand. “But there’s something wrong here beyond any dragon.”

“I’ll deal with that,” said Bill. “All you have to worry about is what I brought you here to do.”

That being neutralising the dragon before it could kill either of them. He had all of his equipment in his backpack, but that didn’t make him feel any easier about the venture. He usually did jobs like this on his own. Not that he didn’t trust Bill, but his swashbuckling attitude might make it difficult to properly subdue the dragon—if it came to that.

“Wait here,” said Bill, stepping further into the darkness of the cave, the floating light he’d conjured hanging ominously over their heads. 

Their shadows danced on the rocky walls, creating odd patterns of light and dark drifting across the surface. Bill muttered something under his breath, sweeping his wand back and forth over the entrance of the tunnel that led deeper inside. For a while nothing happened, but Bill seemed to be waiting for something, standing patiently just at the threshold.

Then, somewhere at the end of the tunnel, there was a tremendous _bang_ , and some rocks crumbled from the ceiling as a bright purple light shot through the cave. 

“Ha,” said Bill, a wide grin splitting his face. “I knew there’d be some sort of magic repelling charm somewhere in there.” 

“What would have happened if we’d walked into it?” asked Charlie, peering down the now darkened tunnel.

“Going by the light and the volume, we’d probably have been blasted to dust,” said Bill cheerily. Charlie stared at him. “Alright, perhaps not so dramatic as that, but we’d definitely have died, so it’s a good job it’s gone.”

“I dunno why you like messing around with stuff like this,” muttered Charlie, following Bill into the tunnel. “Seems like you’re one wrong curse from certain death at all times.”

“Well, technically yes,” said Bill, his voice bouncing off the walls, “but it’s all a matter of perspective isn’t it? I dunno why you like messing around with dragons so much. They’re way more dangerous than a few stray curses if you ask me.”

“No they’re not. Not if you know them well, anyway.”

“Well, Charles—” Charlie shoved Bill in the back for using his full name— “that’s why I brought you isn’t it? I’m not an expert in these things. You are.”

“If it turns out there’s a dragon in here at all.”

“If there isn’t, I’ll give you twenty Galleons,” said Bill.

Charlie spluttered. “Twenty?”

“Sure. I get good money working for Gringotts, you know. The goblins are always keen to get their hands on new treasures.”

Charlie wished he could say the same about working with dragons, but the truth was that pursuing his passion had left him with a little short on money. Not that that was anything he wasn’t used to, but it did make him hope even more that Bill was mistaken about there being a dragon inside at all. This place gave him the shivers.

“Can’t be far now,” said Bill, just as a light began to manifest at the end of the tunnel. 

“Think your treasure will only be a tunnel away?” asked Charlie. 

“With that charm on the entrance? I think it’s safe to say that that would have cleared up most people trying to get in. Ugh, and it looks like it has too.”

Charlie peered over Bill’s shoulder to see what he was looking at, and saw that by the exit of the tunnel there had built up quite a pile of skeletons, some newer-looking than others. The pale light conjured from Bill’s wand illuminated them all in an eerie glow, some so pale they seemed to emit a certain light themselves as the ball hovered over them. 

“Do people not check for curses coming into a place like this?” asked Charlie, a little disgusted.

“You’d be surprised how few think of it,” said Bill, stepping over one of the nearest skeletons. “Not all of them would have been looking for treasure either, some might have needed shelter, others might have just been curious.”

“Why are some of them so bright?” asked Charlie, following Bill’s lead.

“Looks like the curse eats away your flesh,” said Bill, grimacing slightly. “Some haven’t been here long at all by the looks of things. Poor sods.”

“But it’s safe for us now, right?”

“Should be.”

“ _Should_ be?”

“Almost certainly.”

“You aren’t exactly inspiring me with confidence, Bill,” said Charlie, now standing reluctantly in front of the exit. 

“There’s always a chance something could go wrong,” said Bill with a shrug. “It’s rare but it happens.”

“In that case, you can go through first,” said Charlie, standing aside to let Bill through.

Bill chuckled. “What, don’t trust me?”

“Not even a little bit.”

“Alright alright.”

Even though Bill was clearly joking around, Charlie couldn’t quite suppress the urge to look away as he stepped through the exit. There was no terrible squelching sound, and Bill immediately span around to face him. 

“See? Completely safe.”

“Fine,” said Charlie. 

His heart still beat slightly too fast in his chest as he stepped in the main chamber.

“Look at this place,” said Bill, already moving along the walls and examining the hieroglyphs. “It’s older than I thought.”

“You think?” asked Charlie, though he wasn’t really paying attention, as something had caught his eye as well. Along the wall directly opposite them, the beautiful carvings were disrupted by several long, jagged gashes. Or to be more accurate, claw-marks. Bill may have been right about this after all. 

“What is it, Charlie?” asked Bill, jogging over to him. “See something?”

“Only that,” said Charlie, pointing at the damaged wall. 

Bill gave a low whistle. “Those definitely aren’t small claw-marks are they?”

“No,” said Charlie, stepping a bit closer. “All the worse for us. The dragon in here’s probably fully grown if this place is as old as you say it is.”

“Got any idea what kind we’re dealing with?” 

“Well, let’s see: dark cave, long sharp claws, tendency towards treasure-hoarding, and doesn’t need to eat for a long time, given the bones over there are untouched... Pretty sure we’re dealing with an Egyptian Deathfang.”

“Well, I don’t know what that is, but it doesn’t sound good,” said Bill, glancing down one of the passageways leading off the cave.

“We’ll be fine if it’s hibernating,” said Charlie, walking over to the passage that had more claw-marks on the walls. “That’s what they usually do once they’ve got their claws on enough treasure. Of course, that does mean it’ll _have_ your treasure, which isn’t so good...”

“It damn well isn’t,” muttered Bill. “Still, at least I have the consolation of having an expert with me. No doubt you’ll sort this dragon when we find it.”

“Hmm,” said Charlie. 

In truth, though he didn’t say as much to Bill, he wasn’t at all sure about this. The Deathfang clearly wasn’t a danger to the locals, so he had no reason to bring it back to the reserve, but simply tranquillising it would be difficult enough. Not to mention determining whether it actually was hibernating or just waiting for something to come to eat... But Bill was already hurrying off ahead, so Charlie quickly went after him, unwilling to let him wander off into some sort of trouble. 

The tunnel leading off the main cave had enough scratches along the sides that Charlie thought it likely the Deathfang had been forced to squeeze itself through, it’s sharp scales catching on the walls. And if it really was the size of this tunnel...it would certainly be fully grown. 

“Hey!” said Bill, just up ahead. 

Charlie quickly jogged over to him and saw he was crouched on the floor, staring at something glistening in the light. 

“What do you make of this, Charlie?” he asked, lowering the ball of light to hover over it, lighting it up more clearly. “At first I thought it might be gold, but the colour isn’t quite right.”

“Yes,” murmured Charlie. 

The thing on the ground was almost completely flat, the light bouncing off the surface, making it almost reflective. An oval just a bit larger than the span of his hand, and with a kind of glittering gold colour to it. Charlie knew enough to guess what it was on sight. 

“This is one of the dragon’s scales,” he said. “It must be down here somewhere.”

“Just one?” asked Bill, going a little paler. “You weren’t kidding about the thing being big.”

“Nope,” said Charlie, rising to his feet. “All the more reason to hope it’s asleep when we find it.” 

Bill’s light bobbed along ahead of them, and Bill stayed close to Charlie, as though afraid he might get left behind. Or he was just afraid of the dragon. One or the other. 

Eventually the tunnel opened out into another large room, and within lay the glistening, golden form of the dragon. Its eyes were closed, and it lay so still that had you not noticed the steady rise and fall of its chest, you could mistake it for a huge golden statue. 

Charlie heard Bill exhale deeply beside him. 

“Dreaming,” he muttered. “Thank goodness. Wouldn’t want to run into that thing while it’s on the prowl.”

“Careful, Bill,” said Charlie, grabbing him by the arm before he could step forward. “Before you go lumbering into it I need to check something first.”

In truth, Charlie strongly suspected his suspicions were already proven, but he needed to go through the proper procedure, just in case. 

He crept towards the dragon, one foot then another, until he was only a few feet away. Then he stamped hard on the ground, the sound echoing off the walls, loud enough for the sleeping dragon to hear it, if it really was asleep.

“What are you doing?” Bill hissed from behind him, but Charlie ignored him. 

So that ruled out the possibility the dragon was asleep. Now they had two options: either it was hibernating, or merely pretending to sleep. If they were lucky it would be hibernating. If not...well. They’d cross that bridge when they came to it. 

He stepped a little closer, coming right up to the beast’s powerful legs, and carefully, very carefully, pressed his wand against its scales. Its heartbeat was loud and clear, beating quickly, rhythmically. Even dragons couldn’t control their own heartbeats for the sake of an illusion. Which meant he was right. It was waiting for them to make a false move.

“What’s the verdict, Charlie?” called Bill from behind him. 

Charlie quickly jogged over, not wanting him to make any more noise. The dragon could still easily decide it was sick of waiting for them to get close enough to its jaws to strike. 

“It’s pretending to sleep,” he said quietly, once Bill was in earshot.

“Pretending?”

“Yes, why do you think they have the name? They’re venomous creatures; kill by biting their prey. This one’s just waiting for us to get close enough to strike.”

Bill frowned. “So if we go around its legs we should be alright?”

Charlie shook his head. “No, it’ll get tired of waiting sooner or later. Better I subdue it now, then we can deal with getting to the treasure.”

“And how do you intend to do that?”

“I have my ways,” said Charlie, with a smile. 

“And I suppose you want me to stay well back, is that it?” 

“Unless you think a curse is going to smite me from the ceiling somewhere, then yes.”

“Alright,” said Bill. “But don’t be too long about it. I don’t feel easy spending this much time near a dragon, even if it is unconscious.” 

Charlie nodded, then unslung his backpack, searching through for the tranquillisers. Even the strongest sleeping spell wouldn’t have much effect on a dragon of that size, so he’d have to take the manual route. Just as he was drawing the darts out, however, there was a hefty snort from the dragon, and some of the gold it was sitting on went tinkling to the floor. It was beginning to decide to take matters into its own hands. This was not good. 

“Charlie...” said Bill from behind him.

“I can see,” said Charlie, fumbling with the dart gun as even more gold fell from the pile, and the room got warmer and warmer. The dragon was beginning to wake up. 

Damn it, he wouldn’t get the thing loaded fast enough—his hands were sweaty and the darts kept slipping and sliding around in his fingers—and if one stabbed him they’d be done for. Fine. Looked like he’d have to do this the hard way. 

The Deathfang was properly awake now, piercing blue eyes staring at them from the pile of gold, sharp teeth bared, gleaming in the light. It was beginning to rise to its feet, steam puffing from its nostrils. 

“ _Wingardium Leviosa,_ ” muttered Charlie. Two darts should do the trick. They hovered in the air in front of him, but the Deathfang was already advancing. 

“Charlie!”

Just as Bill began to back away, Charlie flung the darts at the dragon, one connecting with its thigh, the other straight into its chest. That was good—at least one of them should have penetrated deeply. It would, however, take a good thirty seconds to take effect. And thirty seconds was a surprisingly long time when facing down an angry dragon. 

“ _Protago!_ ” shouted Charlie, as flames sprayed from the dragon’s mouth, their heat still reaching him and Bill, even though the fire did not.

“Should we run?” asked Bill, looking back through the tunnel.

“No,” said Charlie, deflecting another blast. “Smaller space, we may get burnt alive, flames or no flames. We need to stay out in the open.”

The dragon roared, but it was moving a bit slower; the tranquilliser beginning to take effect.

“And how long do we need to deal with this thing?”

“Only another ten seconds!” 

This time it spat venom at them, and with a flick of his wand Charlie turned it to water, making Bill splutter as it soaked them through. 

Five.

The dragon lunged at them, sharp claws reflecting the artificial light.

Four.

Bill leapt out of the way, just managing to avoid slipping on the water on the floor.

Three. 

The dragon’s strength was fading, it’s limbs beginning to become weak and shaky. Fire was forming in its mouth again.

Two.

The barrier was in place.

One.

The dragon hissed, the smallest jet of flame expanding and...

Zero!

It collapsed to the floor, completely unconscious, making a tremendous _thud_ that shook the ceiling.

“Is it... Is it safe?” asked Bill, stumbling over to him. 

“It’s unconscious,” said Charlie. “So yes. Mostly.”

“ _Mostly?_ ”

Charlie grinned at him. “Well it’s like you said: you can never be entirely sure.”

Bill scowled for a moment, but then chuckled quietly to himself. “That’s certainly been one of my more dramatic escapades I have to tell you.” 

Charlie quickly moved over to the dragon, removing the darts from its flesh. “We have about forty-five minutes to deal with whatever it was your bosses wanted to do, so let’s get on with it.”

“Forty-five minutes is more than enough. Oh, and Charlie—” Bill grabbed him by the arm.

“Yeah?”

“Thanks. Couldn’t have done it without you.”


End file.
